May 17, 2018 -- Santa Monica’s City Council is edging closer to approving a November ballot measure that would require developers to win a super-majority council vote for projects that are bigger or taller than zoning allows.

City staff is now exploring an option to require at least five (of seven) council votes to amend land-use or “specific” area plans for proposed developments which increase the maximum height limit or size currently allowed.

The projects -- the 357,000 square-foot “Plaza at Santa Monica” on City-owned land and a 502,157 square-foot renovation of the Fairmont Miramar Hotel -- require Development Agreements (DAs), which are reached between the council and developers.

McKeown said his proposed super-majority ballot measure would “give residents in November a chance to affirm our community intent to stick to our plan, which came out of an intense ten-year public process."

It also would "send an unequivocal message to developers -- who might have hoped for us to consider bigger projects, despite the community’s decade of hard work -- that ‘Stick to Our Plan’ means ‘stop.’"

The City’s Land Use Circulation Element (LUCE) limits size, density, height and other matters of development, as do “specific plans” engineered for various neighborhoods, including downtown.

Himmelrich -- who like McKeown is up for re-election in November -- has already voiced her support for second stab at a super-majority ballot measure.

Others on the council have said the ballot measure could re-start development wars.

City staff said a ballot measure was unnecessary when it reported back to the council on May 8 about the issue.

“The recommended first option is to not place a measure on the ballot and continue to rely on the existing General Plan, the Downtown Community Plan and Zoning Ordinance which sets out clear rules for maximum height and floor-area ratios (FAR) for the vast majority of the City based on plans,” staff said.